After five years, nine seasons, many happy couples, and even a few children, Love Is Blind is less of an experiment and more of a proven hypothesis: Yes, singles can in fact date each other through a wall and end up finding their forever soulmate.
Heading into the Season 9 finale, the three remaining engaged couples — Ali and Anton, Kalybriah and Edmond, and Megan and Jordan — seemed poised to join the ranks of the married alums that have come before them. However, before the episode ends, only two make it to the altar — and, in a series first, the season ends without anyone tying the knot.
So, does a season of Love Is Blind without any marriages call into question the very foundation of the now global franchise? For series creator Chris Coelen, no “I do’s” are no problem. “Whether they succeed or fail, the trying is the most enjoyable and important part for me,” he tells Tudum. In fact, as he sees it, the choices made in the finale speak to the beating heart of what Love Is Blind is all about.
Now that Season 9 has come to a close, what do you make of the response from fans? People have very strong feelings about the Denver pod squad!
I love our fans and I love their passion, and I have strong feelings about the Denver pod squad as well. I love that over a season, my feelings (and the feelings of the fans) will evolve in different directions and that our producing team, along with so many viewers, will take away different things from watching the same scenes in the same season. It’s really fun to witness.
This is the first time a season of Love Is Blind has ended with none of the couples getting married. What was your reaction during filming to the outcome?
I’m honestly surprised this is the first season where nobody got married. While we’re always rooting for our participants to find a lifelong commitment — because that’s what they all say they come to Love is Blind for — most importantly, we root for them to make the decisions they feel are right for themselves. And I think that’s what happened here.
How do you think fans will react to the ending of the season? What do you hope they take away from it?
I hope they feel the couples ended up in the right place and that they enjoy the bravery and vulnerability of our participants, who put their stories out there in hopes of finding something amazing.
There are obviously many Love Is Blind couples who are still together today. And yet, every season there is some conversation about whether the dating experiment still works. Do you think this season’s outcome confirms or complicates that idea at all?
The experiment is one of the most incredible things I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of, personally or professionally, and it’s amazing. Remember that the experiment is an experiment, and it’s meant to test two main questions: First, is it possible to fall in love with someone based solely on who they are? And second, if you do fall in love and get engaged, is that love strong enough to overcome the obstacles of the real, material world? In Season 9, at least one member of each couple felt their love was not strong enough to overcome the challenges of the real world, and they chose not to get married. That’s exactly how the experiment is supposed to work, so I would say not only is the experiment working, I think it’s working better than ever.
As the series has progressed, have you noticed any shifts among the singles themselves? Are they less or more incentivized to go to the altar and make a lifelong commitment?
Everyone is different, but there’s no shortage of people who want to find a lifelong commitment, and Love Is Blind is an incredible opportunity to look for a partner in a truly unique way that continues to focus on what most people think matters most: who you are on the inside.
What would you say to someone who walks away from this season doubting if the experiment still works ahead of Season 10? Any teases you can share for what’s to come?
As I’ve said, the experiment is working better than ever. I think we’ll see many happy couples continue to come out of the Love Is Blind experiment in the future, who have fallen in love with who they are. We’ll also see couples decide that their love is not enough. Whatever the outcome, the journeys along the way, which reflect our society and some of the amazing people who inhabit it, will continue to be at turns joyful, frustrating, and awe-inspiring — in a word, human.
Don’t forget to tune into the Season 9 reunion hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey on Oct. 29 to watch the Denver pod squad unpack this season’s twists and turns.
